Burning Desire

Chapter Twelve

{ A/N - I'd like to apologise for any language mistakes - I'm not American and haven't yet been to the US, so I'm sorry if it's not in accurate American English. But I'd really appreciate it if you took a moment to vote, comment and enjoy. }

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It had been two weeks since the successful lunging session with Brenna, and throughout the duration of the fortnight I continued to lunge the mare daily. So far, she'd benefited greatly; she was beginning to work in a solid outline and stretch through her topline, as well as working in an overall more relaxed manner. Slowly but surely, she was learning to trust me and rekindle the skills she'd been once been well established with.

But Brenna was an intelligent horse and if she was left to languish with the same routine all the time she would grow naughty and play up with ill-mannered behaviour. Her work had to be varied constantly, otherwise her concentration and enthusiasm would diminish.

"Take her for a hack," Holly suggested.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea..." I bit my lip, hesitant about Holly's proposition. The last time I'd ridden Brenna without the safety of a lunge line or the indoor arena to prevent her from taking off, it had ended in disaster.

"Why not? All this arena work may be beneficial to her, but she's going to get wound up of going around in circles after a while."

"But there's so many things she could spook at, and I'm still trying to gain her trust. I don't want her to take off again."

"Put a stronger hacking bit on her."

I shook my head adamantly. "No. That's definitely not a good idea. She has the most sensitive mouth I've ever encountered."

Holly sighed, scanning the flashy gold watch strapped around her wrist. "Look, Madison. I've got a lesson to teach now. Just take Brenna out for a hack, okay? What's the worst that could happen?"

I bit my lip again, not wanting to think about all the possible things that could actually go wrong. Horse riding was a dangerous enough sport as it was, and the risk was only heightened with spooky, sensitive, highly-strung horses like Brenna.

But there was no point arguing with Holly. She had a point; taking the mare for a hack could benefit her. And what Holly wanted, she usually got; she was even more determined than me. She was not the kind of person you could argue with.

Brenna was dozing in her stall when I arrived at the door, equipped with a grooming kit and the spare tack that I'd adopted to use with her since she still hadn't got a personally fitted set. Her eyes fluttered open when she sensed my presence, regarding me with a small snort, before she slipped back into her tranquil semi-conscious state. Her eyes hooded over as I ran a brush through her glossy auburn coat and she stood perfectly still and relaxed for the duration of the task.

She perked up when I slipped the saddle over her back and lashed out her tail when I tightened the girth, clearly displeased at being disturbed from her peaceful snooze. I offered her a polo mint to compromise and strapped brushing boots to her strong, refined legs before sliding the bridle over her face.

"We're doing something different today, Brenna," I addressed her in the soft voice I employed whenever I was around the mare. Nerves crawled up my throat but I swallowed them down firmly before Brenna could catch on.

I mounted and gathered my reins, nudging the mare on with a light touch at her sides. She sprung forward into a brisk walk, head held high as she sniffed at the surroundings. Clara passed, ambling casually with her mount on a long-rein. Anticipation rose up my throat as they passed and Brenna lurched towards them, letting out a loud squeal and lashing out her tail. Instinctively, I tugged at the reins but that only made her react further, side-stepping and tossing her head. Mouthing an apology at Clara, whose horse was no longer as calm as he'd been before the encounter with my fiery mare, I slowed Brenna to a halt using only my seat. She stood, nostrils flaring, as I mumbled sweet nothings and stroked her neck to soothe her. After a few minutes, I felt the tension evaporate from her shoulders and nudged her forward again.